Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2024 i Ships Monthly

OFFSHORE WIND Cadeler, the world’s largest operator in offshore wind installation, operations and maintenance services, has taken delivery of the P class jack-up installation vessel, Wind Peak. The vessel, constructed at the COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry in Qidong, China, is now ready for operation. Wind Peak has been specifically designed to handle the largest offshore wind turbine components. The P class vessels, including Wind Peak and sistership Wind Pace, currently under construction, are designed to operate in the most challenging offshore installation sites and can transport and install either seven complete 15 MW turbine sets or five sets of 20+ MW turbines per load. With a deck area of 5,600m² and a payload capacity exceeding 17,600 tons, they can accommodate large components. The vessels’ main crane is capable of lifting…

RO-RO VESSEL Samskip has partnered with the HyEkoTank project, an initiative supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, in its efforts to reach net zero emissions by 2040. As part of the programme Samskip will retrofit its multipurpose ro-ro vessel Samskip Kvitnos with hydrogen fuel cell technology developed by TECO 2030, as the company takes a major step forward with efforts to decarbonise its fleet. The 2015-built Samskip Kvitnos (9,132gt) operates on a fixed route from Rotterdam along the Norwegian west coast to Hammerfest, one of Europe’s most environmentally sensitive regions. By retrofitting the vessel with zeroemission fuel cells, Samskip will ensure she will meet all upcoming regulations, including the FuelEU Maritime and EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), while also addressing the need for zero emissions in Norwegian…

NEWBUILD ORDER Fincantieri’s Norwegian subsidiary Vard has secured a new contract with Island Offshore for the design and construction of a second hybrid-powered Ocean Energy Construction Vessel (OECV). This contract follows an option exercised under a previous agreement and the announcement of two sister vessels in May. The new vessel, scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2027, will be based on the VARD 3 25 design, developed in collaboration with Island Offshore. The vessel will be designed to support a wide range of underwater operations, including inspection, maintenance, repair (IMR), pipe-laying, underwater infrastructure construction and dive support. Measuring 120m by 25m, she will feature a 250-ton offshore crane with active heave compensation and accommodations for 130 personnel, offering high-standard facilities for both crew and clients. Additional features include…

BRITTANY FERRIES Brittany Ferries is to become the majority share owner of Channel Islands services provider Condor Ferries, subject to expected approval by the regulatory bodies of Jersey and Guernsey. Brittany Ferries’ CEO Christophe Mathieu said: ‘We have the experience, expertise and scope to implement best practices, which will ultimately result in better services for Condor passengers.’ Brittany Ferries will have a 51 per cent holding, with the minority stake being retained by Columbia Threadneedle. Condor was originally acquired in November 2019 by a consortium comprising Brittany Ferries and the London-based Columbia Threadneedle European Sustainable Infrastructure Fund. Justin Amey, Condor’s head of sales and marketing, said: ‘We are on schedule to provide the highest quality service to our passengers and are constantly adapting and evolving in a mission shared whole…

ALSLINJEN The Danish operator Alslinjen cut its domestic route between Fynshaven and Bøjden to a single ship from 8 August, using Frigg Sydfyen (1984/1,676gt). The berth previously occupied by the withdrawn ferry Fynshav (1998/3,380gt) was then upgraded to enable it to accommodate the new 4,318gt double-ended electric ferry Nerthus, which was launched by Turkish builders Cemre in April. With a 15.5-knot speed, Nerthus will cut crossing times and there will be further savings, as the vessel will not have to turn in ports. The OSK Designdesigned all-electric ferry is 116.8m long, has a capacity for 600 passengers and 188 cars. Cemre will also build a sistership, Tyrfing, destined for Samsølinjen, with a slightly larger battery.…

SHIPBUILDING With a recent surge in orders for new cruise ships, including a pair for Carnival Cruise Line and a fourth in the current series of Disney ships, but for the Japanese franchise, Oriental Land Company, it could appear that the Meyer Werft shipyard at Papenburg was secure. More recently Disney has placed orders for a further four ships, of a new class, although there are few details at present. With deliveries of ships from this order running from 2027 to 2031, the yard now has work for seven years and an order book valued at about €11 billion. However, as a result of delayed deliveries due to Covid causing breaks in working, and supply issues, the company’s immediate liquidity has become something of a problem. It has not been…

US COAST GUARD The US Coast Guard has abandoned an Arctic deployment after a fire aboard USCGC Healy (WAGB-20). The electrical blaze affected one of the ship’s two main propulsion motors, forcing the 27-year-old icebreaker to return home to Seattle for repairs. The same ship also caught fire in 2020 when she was en route to the Arctic. The USCG’s other icebreaker, the 1976-built USCGC Polar Star (WAGB-10), is also unavailable as she nears completion of a major refit to extend her service life. This fit is scheduled to be completed in August. A US$5 billion Polar Security Cutter programme is under way to design and build three new heavy icebreakers. The first, USCGC Polar Sentinel (PSC-1), is under development but is already three years behind schedule and will not…

RAN Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 has culminated with a sinkex of the former USS Tarawa (LHA-1) and USS Dubuque (LPD 8), in waters 15,000ft deep, near Hawaii. Among a number of weapon systems used, the amphibious assault ship was successfully targeted by Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) fired from the destroyers HMAS Sydney and USS Fitzgerald. For the Royal Australian Navy, it was the first NSM firing since the weapon was selected as a replacement for the Harpoon anti-surface missile system on Anzac class frigates and Hobart class destroyers in April 2022. In future it will also equip Hunter class ships and the yet to be decided ‘tier 2’ frigates. Later, HMAS Sydney conducted another first, with the firing of a Standard Missile 6 during Exercise Pacific Dragon…

When Germany’s nuclear vessel Otto Hahn was launched 60 years ago, she was seen as the future. However, after just ten years the ground-breaking ship was decommissioned and converted into a conventional cargo carrier. Phillipp Steiner looks back over her history. Sixty years ago Germany’s first and only nuclearpowered ship, Otto Hahn, was launched. Her keel was laid down by Howaldtswerke of Kiel. The ship was launched on the weekend of 13-14 June 1964, and was named in honour of Professor Otto Hahn, the German chemist and Nobel prizewinner. In 1938 the chemist discovered, together with Fritz Straßmann, nuclear fission, which plays a decisive role in atomic reactors. One of the captains of Otto Hahn was Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, a German U-boat commander from World War II. The ship measured 172m…

On 20 July 2020 Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), the cruise company headquartered in Purfleet, Essex, went into administration and formally ceased its services. It was an unfortunate end to an innovative company, which had served the British, Australian and US cruise markets with distinction for a decade. But the impact of the Covid pandemic, which now seems almost a distant memory, ended the company’s operations, along with those of several other cruise operators. Cruise & Maritime Voyages was formed in 2009 by a parent organisation, Cruise & Maritime Services International, after the German-based company Transocean Tours (for whom they were the UK representative) filed for bankruptcy. Cruise & Maritime Voyages provided ‘no fly’ cruising holidays from UK ports aboard smaller and medium-sized classic and more traditional-style ships, and soon…

SHIPS MAIL DEMISE OF ONCE GREAT SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY Colin Wright’s letter (SM July 2024) about the demise of our once great shipbuilding industry echoes my experience. In the 1970s and 1980s I was happily involved with shipbuilding in Norway, the Netherlands and Germany. But it was in the UK where, almost without exception, the standard of senior management in the individual UK yards was nothing short of abysmal. That also applied to British Shipbuilders’ head office and, looking at disastrous contracts such as the Superflex ferries, the two Stena diving ships and the IMT crane ship, it is obvious why the government of the day could hardly wait to close the industry down. A couple of examples of management ineptitude: the refusal of Doxford directors to allow the Japanese to…

PRESERVATION On 31 August Dartmouth hosted a historic meeting of the UK’s only two operational paddle steamers. To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Dart’s own PS Kingswear Castle, the larger Waverley came to the river. The two paddle steamers met just outside the entrance and cruised in company up the estuary, accompanied by a fleet of smaller vessels. Waverley then sailed upriver to Maypool, and thus became the largest vessel this century to sail so far upriver. She then came back and berthed alongside in Dartmouth. Later, Waverley ran a circular cruise out to sea and back upriver to Maypool. The event ended with a firework display, the culmination of the Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta. The paddlers were full for all cruises, and the quaysides were packed with…

HERITAGE The historic steamship Shieldhall made her annual week-long summer visit to the Port of Poole, arriving alongside Town Quay on 26 August for a series of open days and public cruises. Launched at the Lobnitz & Co shipyard on the Clyde in 1955 for Glasgow Corporation service, she is Europe’s largest operational steamship. During her journey from Southampton she experienced mechanical problems which, along with adverse tides, delayed her arrival by two hours. Shieldhall was met within Poole Harbour by the port tug Herbert Ballam (1998), and her arrival also coincided with that of the highspeed ferry Condor Liberation (2010) from the Channel Islands. The historic vessel departed Poole on 2 September, with a one-way trip back to Southampton. Her next sailings came on 14 and 15 September and…

PORT NEWS The general cargo ship Antje K (2002/3,037gt) is pictured alongside at the Port of Poole during February discharging roadstone from Belfast. For many years roadstone was a regular trade at the Dorset port, with imports from Northern Ireland, but these have recently been switched to the East Sussex port of Newhaven. In more positive news for Poole, port operator Poole Harbour Commissioners remain confident that the mothballed freight rail link into the port estate will be reopened for traffic early next year, mainly for the benefit of aggregate shipments, which currently leave the port by road. Network Rail has recently upgraded the two-mile-long branch line from Hamworthy Junction to the PHC port boundary.…

P&O FREIGHT P&O Ferries has added the ro-ro vessel Longstone to its fleet, increasing freight capacity on the route between Tilbury 2 (London), on the Thames, and its hub in Zeebrugge. Longstone has been chartered long-term and will enable P&O Ferries to carry more unaccompanied freight on its North Sea network, offering greater guaranteed capacity and frequency. The introduction of the ship will enable the 1999-built ro-ro Norstream, hitherto Thames-based, to go to the Tees-Zeebrugge route on a permanent basis. The vessel undertook berthing trials at Tilbury 2 on 25 August before sailing on her first crossing on the route on 26 August. Built as Maria Grazia Onorato in Germany by Flensberger in 2019, the 32,936gt ship entered service on routes in the Mediterranean. In October 2021 she was chartered…

CHANNEL ISLANDS The Belgian-headquartered freight specialist CLdN is making a multi-million-pound investment to improve the Brocklebank Dock Terminal it uses in Liverpool as part of a plan to increase capacity on Irish Sea services to the Mersey port from Dublin in Ireland. The infrastructure upgrades at the terminal will improve the use of space and enhance the flow of cargo movements, while a new gate set-up, improved drivers’ facilities and new terminal operating system will increase efficiency and lead to an improved customer experience for dropping off and picking up cargo. To enable the work to be completed CLdN are moving temporarily to Liverpool’s Gladstone Dock Branch Number 3 for the next four months. CLdN operates several routes out of Liverpool and Dublin. The ships on the route include Victorine…

BRIDGEMANS After just a short period under the ownership of Bridgemans, the accommodation ship Ocean Diamond (renamed Ocean XI) was resold for scrap and beached at Aliaga on 24 August. She had some conversion work in Gibraltar earlier in the year to make her more suitable as an accommodation ship and is reported to have been used as such in the gas fields off Israel. So another oldie has been lost, and Ocean Diamond has been around for half a century, having been built in Norway as the freighter Begona in 1974. In 1985 the 8,282gt ship was converted into a cruise ship, becoming Explorer Starship. She later sailed for Radisson as Song of Flower, Compagnie du Ponant as Le Diamant, and Iceland ProTravel and Quark Expeditions as Ocean Diamond.…

RUSSIAN NAVY The days of the former Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk appear to be numbered after she was ravaged by a major fire. The 46-year-old relic of the Cold War, which has been laid up in a lagoon near the Yangtze River, 50 miles north-west of Shanghai, for the past eight years, was set ablaze during renovations to return the vessel to use as a tourist attraction. She burned for 24 hours, and images on social media showed extensive damage to the ship’s island superstructure and charring below the flight deck. Minsk is one of four Kiev class aircraft carriers built in what is now Ukraine. After being decommissioned in 1993, it was purchased by a Chinese company, who sold it on to become the Minsk World theme park in…

IRISH NAVY The Irish Naval Service’s recently acquired 55m Inshore Patrol Vessels have been named LÉ Aoibhinn (P71) and LÉ Gobnait (P72), after prominent ancient female figures. The 15-year-old ships are direct replacements for LÉ Orla and LÉ Ciara, the former Royal Navy Hong Kong patrol vessels. These two vessels arrived in Ghent, Belgium for recycling earlier this year. A programme of crew familiarisation and training is currently under way on the new ships at the INS’ naval base in Haulbowline, near Cobh, prior to the ships becoming operational. When in service, they are to be used to conduct maritime security and fishery protection operations along the Irish Sea East and South East coast from a new base, which has yet to be announced, but which may be at Dun…

SHIPOWNER Cardiff-based ship owner Graig Shipping, founded by Idwal Williams in 1919 with the purchase of the steamer Graig, is to wind down its operations following the retirement of the current generation of the owner’s family. While the company began as a shipowner, it diversified its interests over the years. In 1995 Graig opened a Shanghai office to oversee newbuilding projects across China and the Far East for various owners. In total, 240 projects were managed, with Confidence class multipurpose general cargo ships and Diamond-56 type bulk carriers among the most successful designs. The company’s ship management arm was sold to V Ships in 2017. Its final two bulk carriers, the 34,800dwt Graig Cardiff and Graig Rotterdam, remained in operation until late 2019. In recent years, Graig Shipping has focused…

INCIDENT Vroon’s bitumen/asphalt 2011-built tanker Iver Blessing (59,48gt) sustained stern damage following a collision with the larger Germanowned Liberian-flagged 1996-built bulk carrier Olga, while she was at anchor off St Nazaire on 9 August. The incident occurred as the 18,320dwt Olga, operated by Hamburg-based Johann MK Blumenthal, was leaving the anchorage, leaving the Dutch-owned tanker with damage above the waterline, and five crew with minor injuries, and requiring medical treatment. Following an inspection, the 6,200dwt tanker, which forms part of a four-ship series built for the Breskens-based owner in Korea during 2011, made her way to Vlissingen, where she arrived for repairs at Damen’s facility on 19 August. The French authorities have opened an investigation into the incident.…

The last year has seen an increase in maritime tensions across the world. The war between Russian and Ukraine has extended into its third year and the Black Sea has remained a major battleground for the conflict. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have maintained their previously held advantage against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, using a mixture of drones and conventional missiles to sink and damage many enemy ships. These successes have served to limit the Black Sea Fleet’s freedom of action and safeguard Ukraine’s crucial grain trade. In the autumn of 2023 a new area of maritime conflict erupted in the Red Sea when Houthi rebel forces in Yemen commenced a campaign of attacks against shipping utilising this vital trade route. The rebels’ actions followed the attack on Israel by Hamas…

While the main links from Ireland to the UK are via Rosslare and Dublin, a ferry to Europe runs from the terminal at Ringaskiddy to Roscoff, France. The twice-a-week service is operated by Brittany Ferries’ vessels Pont Aven (41,700gt) and Armorique (29,468gt). The opening of the Ringaskiddy terminal attracted the French operator, who linked the seasonal service from Cork into the roster of the vessels which maintain the route from Plymouth to Santander. Pont Aven was built at Meyer Werft, Papenburg in 2004 at a cost of €200 million. The vessel carries 600 cars and can accommodate 2,415 passengers. Armorique, which carries 1,500 passengers and 500 cars, was built at STX Helsinki in 2009. Before Pont-Aven was introduced onto the route in 2004, Armorique (from 1978), Quiberon (1982-89), Bretagne (1989-93)…

RMS Queen Mary is a lone survivor, the last of a breed of ships the like of which we are unlikely to see again. She is a reminder of an age of opulence and elegance, and a tangible link to the past. Representative of a bygone age, Queen Mary’s importance is obvious, but there was not a time when the ship was anything but important, even before her launch, as David Ellery explains. The concept of a liner more than 1,000ft (304.8m) in length was first conceived by Cunard Steamship Company in 1926. At the time, Cunard operated a weekly transatlantic service between Britain and America using three liners: Mauretania (31,938gt, maiden voyage 1907), Aquitania (45,647gt, maiden voyage May 1914) and Berengaria (formerly Imperator of Hamburg-America Line, 52,117gt, launched May…

PCTC NEWBUILD Swedish shipping company Wallenius Lines has taken delivery of the first vessel in a new series of pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) built by CIMC Raffles of China. Future Way was designed jointly by Wallenius Lines subsidiary Wallenius Marine and Danish naval architecture firm Knud E. Hansen. The ship has been designed to have as low fuel consumption and as little ballast as possible, and has a capacity of 6,500 cars. She measures 199.95m by 37m, has a depth of 13.4m, and an aerodynamically optimised bow to reduce wind resistance. The upper hull and superstructure were designed to have as few protruding parts as possible. Power comes from a MAN 6S60ME-C10 dual-fuel engine. Future Way will be operated under charter with the Volkswagen Group, along with sistership…

SS UNITED STATES After many months of wrangling and a legal case, the SS United States Conservancy has failed in its request for more time to remove the famous liner from her berth in Philadelphia, but the deadline day of 12 September came and went with her future still unclear. Plans for the liner to become an artificial reef off the Florida coast have been amde, after she was sold in principal to Florida’s Okaloosa County for US$1 million. The County has agreed to move the liner from her current location and scuttle her, creating the world’s largest artificial reef and diving site off the US coast. The timescale for this has yet to be announced. United States remains unique in that, of her 72-year lifespan, she was in commercial…

INDUSTRY NEWS CSL Group, the Canadian-based bulk carrier operator, has added to its marine portfolio by acquiring a 50 per cent stake in short-sea general cargo operator Peak Group. Based in Bergen, the company, which was established in 2005, has been rebranded Peak CSL Group. Offering logistic, agency, marine engineering and chartering services, the company operates a mix of coasters and self-discharge mini-bulkers ranging in size from 1,800 to 8,264 dwt, including five heavy-load/open top multi-purpose cargo ships, built in the Netherlands during 2010-2011 for Abis Shipping, and later acquired by the Norwegian company. Peak Group currently has a series of 7,000dwt multi-purpose low-carbon general cargo ships on order in China through a joint venture with Grieg Edge, with the option for four more.…

NEW HEAVYLIFTER With the arrival of AAL Limassol in Cuxhaven, the first Super B Class vessel in AAL Shipping’s fleet completed a successful maiden voyage to Europe, testing her cargo-handling capabilities, including the AAL Eco-Deck retractable deck extension system. AAL Limassol delivered over 89,000 freight tons of multipurpose cargo on a single sailing, a record cargo for the carrier. Sister vessel AAL Hamburg is now also in service, and AAL Houston will shortly follow, with another five of these vessels to reinforce the AAL fleet of multipurpose heavy lifters. AAL Limassol was delivered to AAL Shipping at a naming ceremony at the CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard in Guangzhou, China on 26 April. Shortly thereafter she began her maiden voyage from Asia to Europe, with a wide variety of heavy lift…

LPG CARRIERS Avance Gas has agreed to sell its fleet of Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) to BW LPG in a deal valued at $1.05 billion. The transaction will be structured with $585 million in cash and 19.282 million shares in BW LPG. BW LPG is the world’s leading owner and operator of LPG vessels, owning and operating a fleet of Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) with a total carrying capacity of over three million cubic metres, and has the world’s largest fleet of LPG-powered VLGCs, with 17 equipped with LPG dual-fuel propulsion technology. Established in 2007 with Stolt-Nielsen as a major shareholder, Oslo-based Avance Gas saw the chemical-tanker operator reduce its holdings in 2021. The sale includes 12 vessels, eight of which were delivered in 2015, and four dual-fuel…

NEWBUILDS The following lists the orders for the larger cruise groups and individual cruise lines, which covers all of the large ships currently being contracted. In the next issue the remaining orders will be listed, generally for small and exclusive ships in the ultra luxury and expedition markets. One of the largest single order investments must be the recent one from Disney for four ships. Also of note is the Carnival order with Fincantieri for three ships, all of which break the 6,000 lower berth barrier for the first time. MSC Cruises are continuing the expansion of their premium Explora brand, while NCL have plans for three ships each larger than 200,000gt. The other company with continued expansion is Viking, which continues to order almost identical ships from Fincantieri.…

CARNIVAL Three of Carnival Cruise Line’s ships have recently received attention. Carnival Splendor resumed service on 24 August, sailing from Singapore, following a routine dry docking. She arrived back in Sydney on 6 August, ready to resume her Australian cruises to the South Pacific. During her maintenance period she was repainted with the new hull livery. Following her short period based in the UK, Carnival Legend underwent a scheduled dry docking at the Chantiers Naval de Marseille yard in France before positioning to her homeport of Civitavecchia. During the autumn she will operate from Tampa, Florida. The maintenance on Carnival Vista was a short-notice attempt to solve a propulsion issue, which was limiting the ship’s cruising speed. The ship returned several hours early to Port Canaveral on 18 August and…

ITALIAN NAVY The Italian Navy is to get five new mine countermeasures vessels following the formal signing of a contract worth up to €2.6 billion between NAVARM, the Italian Directorate of Naval Armaments of the General Secretariat of Defense and National Armaments Directorate, and a consortium comprising Intermarine and Leonardo. The so-called New Generation Coastal Minehunters (CNG/C) will replace the current fleet of ten Lerici and Gaeta class vessels. Intermarine will act as the lead contractor and design authority for the CNG/C units, providing the platform, while Leonardo will be responsible for the combat system. The latter is the cyber-resilient SADOC 4 command and control system, with advanced radar and electro-optical sensors, and a new broadband sonar with mine detection and classification capabilities. The 63m vessels will displace around 1,300…

COMPANY NEWS Pacific International Lines (PIL) is stepping up on its fleet renewal programme and in August ordered five new container vessels with 13,000TEU capacity, equipped with liquefied natural gas (LNG) dualfuel engines. The neo-panamaxsized vessels are expected to be delivered progressively from the end of 2026. Construction of the vessels has been awarded to Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard, a leading Chinese shipbuilder. Designed with a focus on efficiency, safety and sustainability, the vessels will have the flexibility to meet the demands of different voyages, weather conditions and load capacities. They will be equipped with dual-fuel engines and auxiliaries to be able to run on both LNG as well as low sulphur fuel oil. These latest orders are part of PIL’s fleet renewal strategy for larger and more eco-friendly vessel types.…

LARGE TANKERS The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), the country’s biggest oil shipping company, has finalised a significant agreement with Greek shipowner Capital Maritime and Trading Corporation to acquire nine Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). The nine VLCCs, none of which are currently named and most of which were built by South Korean shipyards, all have a deadweight tonnage of approximately 311,500 tons, and have an average age of 5.9 years Valued at approximately $1 billion, the deal was signed on 19 August. Under the terms of the agreement, Bahri will make an initial ten per cent deposit, with the remaining 90 per cent due upon delivery of the tankers, expected by the end of Q1 2025. These scrubber-fitted vessels, built between 2014 and 2022, will support Bahri’s…

CONTAINERS Peter Doehle, which has a fleet of around 415 vessels, has further expanded its fleet with the acquisition of the 6,078TEU capacity container ship Chicago from German financier Gebab. The 21-year-old container ship is the Hamburg-based owner’s sixth, and largest, purchase this year. Delivered by Hanjin Heavy Industries in July 2003, the vessel entered service on charter to Hanjin Shipping as Hanjin Chicago. Her name was shortened to Chicago in 2014, following the collapse of the Korean-ship operator. She spent various periods on charter to container majors, operating as Maersk Yangtze between 2018 and 2022. Following the purchase, the 68,037dwt vessel has been taken on charter by Tailwind, the shipping arm of German supermarket chain Lidl, and renamed Panda 008. WATERFRONT • www.shipsmonthly.com • The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding…

LORNA • Built at a time when tramp shipping was the backbone of the British Merchant Service, the three-island tramp steamer Lorna, pictured entering the river at South Shields on 17 March 1963, was completed in 1927 as Baron Tweedmouth by Lithgows Ltd, Port Glasgow. With a forecastle, bridge deck and poop, the ship’s profile was typical of her type, with the tall funnel, derricks set high above deck level, and generous use of woodwork around the wheelhouse and bridge front, including her bridge wing shelters. Powered by a triple expansion steam engine built by J.G. Kincaid & Co Ltd, Glasgow, she had a service speed of ten knots. Her owners were Hugh Hogarth & Sons Ltd, Glasgow, who registered their ships at the Scottish port of Ardrossan. During the…

WHEN DID YOU START YOUR CAREER AT SEA? My childhood dream was to go to sea, travel to distant countries, and so after three years of studying at the Nautical Academy I experienced the life of a seaman in reality. I joined my first ship at Callao, near Lima in Peru, so my seafaring started near the ruins of the lost Inca civilisation. WHAT WAS THE FIRST SHIP YOUR SERVED ON? I started in 1986 on board Nedlloyd Alkmaar, an old style general cargo vessel sailing on a really interesting route, the LACAS line of Nedlloyd, transporting general cargo between various ports in Central and South America and Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and Japan. We carried containers, but most of the cargo was in crates, cartons and boxes,…